KUALA LUMPUR: The government has forked out more than RM1.7 billion to fight the Covid-19 pandemic since February, channeled to 14 ministries and state governments.
Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said out of the total amount, RM1 billion was given to the Health Ministry.
The National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) was given an allocation of RM250 million and RM247 million was for the Home Ministry.
He said the government would not hesitate to allocate more funds if needed especially to fulfil the needs of the frontliners.
"With the new wave of Covid-19 in Sabah, the Health Ministry has channelled an additional RM44 million to strengthen the state's frontliners," he said.
"This covers additional personal protective equipment (PPE), medical supplies and medical equipment including hospital beds as well as ventilators.
"On top of that, the government via the National Security Council (NSC) recently approved additional allocation of RM50 million for the council to support efforts in tackling the pandemic.
"Both additional allocations are in line with the commitment to beef up the state of readiness in facing the rising infection of Covid-19 nationwide," he said.
Tengku Zafrul also said the government was touched by the #kitajagakita spirit among the public and business community who had contributed in cash and kind to support efforts in battling the pandemic.
"Following calls from various quarters, the Health Ministry's Covid-19 Fund was reactivated on Oct 16," he said, adding that the fund was formed to ensure all contributions would reach their objectives.
Since February, the Finance Minister said, the government had received RM44.7 million worth of donation from individuals, business community and various organisations.
"This fund is only being used to fight the Covid-19 pandemic and so far RM33.1 million has been utilised to buy PPE and equip the country's healthcare institutions."
Tengku Zafrul also urged all quarters to join forces and address the issue of fake news which had painted a misleading picture of the Covid-19 issue that could trigger uneasiness among the people.
"It is crucial for us to focus on efforts of saving lives and ensure the survival of the people, businesses and the economy under the new normal," he said, calling on everyone to play their role in breaking the infection chain of the novel coronavirus.
